Buildings, such as homes, apartments or other structures provided with a roof may have gutters to transport and redirect precipitation, HVAC condensate, and/or other fluids through a downspout where the water is released adjacent the building. The released water has been known to be destructive to the area near the foundation and/or the landscape nearby, particularly erosive or disruptive to common items used to dress the landscape, for example ground covers (pinestraw, mulch, etc.), flower beds, sod and/or plants.
In an attempt to reduce erosion, downspouts have been known to include various forms of extensions (above or below the ground) to direct and release the water away from the building, which typically require considerable additional costs, effort and time to install, especially when regular maintenance of the landscape is required. Other known downspouts are commonly provided with a splash block or other non-erosive surface, generally directly below the outlet to both reduce the rate of flow and change the direction (dispersal) of the flowing water before moving into the ground close to the foundation of the building, which can be both unsightly and inefficient, and can potentially cause the same erosion typical of downspouts lacking any attempt to reduce erosion (extension, splash block, etc.).
There is an ongoing need for improvements to drainage systems having downspouts or drainage pipes to eliminate the occurrence of erosion of areas near the output of the drainage pipe and the ground surface nearby, and to reduce the associated cost, assembly and size of devices eliminating the same. It is to the provision of improved downspout accessories and dissipators meeting these and other needs that the present invention is primarily directed.